TROY, N.Y. – Eleven unanswered goals by the No. 19 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ultimately doomed the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team in a 14-5 loss to the Engineers on Wednesday afternoon in a non-conference game at the East Campus Stadium.
 
RPI finished with a 45-28 edge in shots and a 32-26 cushion in ground balls while going 13-for-21 at the face-off X. The Engineers also went 14-for-17 on clear attempts, while the Cardinals were 10-for-15 in transition. RPI took advantage of nine extra-man opportunities, cashing in on four of those chances. In total, Plattsburgh State sustained 10 minutes' worth of penalties on 10 infractions.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 5-3 overall with the loss and opens up State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play on the road on Saturday, April 1, when it visits Oswego State for a 1 p.m. contest. RPI rises to 5-2 with the win and visits Vassar College on Saturday, April 1, at 6 p.m.
 
Junior attackman Ryan Hubbard (Aquebogue, N.Y./Riverhead) fired the opening salvo just 1:41 into the game, while RPI's junior midfielder Matthew Gilman found the back of the net 3:18 later to tie the score at 1-all. Both teams clamped down defensively the remainder of the period, and that 1-all tally held through 15 minutes of play.
 
Junior midfielder Billy Moller (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) put Plattsburgh State on top 2:16 into the second quarter before the Engineers scored 11 straight goals, six of which came in the second. Gilman and sophomore attackman JT Kelly tallied before senior attackman Breanainn McNeally scored twice on assists from Kelly, the first of which came on a man-up opportunity. Kelly put another ball into the back of the cage less than a minute after McNeally's second marker, while Gilman scored a man-up goal 2:13 before halftime to give the Engineers a 7-2 advantage at the intermission.
 
Kelly scored again 1:55 into the third quarter before McNeally fired off four consecutive goals—two of which came with the extra-man advantage—to cap off the rally and hand the Engineers a commanding 12-2 lead. Senior attackman Ryan Callahan (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) scored twice in response, the first of which came off a feed from senior midfielder Mike Gay (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot), but RPI's McNeally put away his seventh and final goal of the game with six seconds remaining in the third to stake the home team to a 13-4 edge heading into the final regulation quarter.
 
Freshman attackman Owen Putman tallied for RPI midway through the fourth quarter, while Hubbard scored less than a minute later to round out the final score.
 
Hubbard and Callahan each finished with two goals, while Moller also scored. Gay provided the Cardinals' lone assist of the afternoon. Hubbard helped Plattsburgh State gain possession with four ground balls, while junior face-off specialist Travis Mauro (Northport, N.Y./Northport) went 4-for-7 on face-offs.
 
For RPI, McNeally recorded eight points on seven goals and one assist, while Kelly picked up seven points on three goals and four assists. Gilman (three goals, two assists), Putman (one goal, one assist), sophomore midfielder Lucas Bastarache (two assists) and junior attackman Zach Lukas (one assist) also were point-getters for the Engineers. Sophomore defenseman Quinn Fettig and junior midfielder Oliver Kaija scooped up four ground balls each, while senior midfielder Jake Weidner caused three turnovers.
 
Junior goalie Austin Graham (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) stood tall in between the pipes in the loss for the Cardinals, making a career-high 15 saves. Senior goalie David Gibbs turned aside eight shots in the winning effort for RPI, while junior goalie Parker Smith took over for the final 7:18 and made two saves.